For the Taste of Gaslamp, the executive chef at Andaz San Diego, Michael Liotta, wanted to grab taste buds in just a few bites and leave them wanting more.

He went off the Andaz menu for a re-imagining of the Viet-cuisine classic, the banh mi. He reduced the traditional sub sandwich to a sliver of French baguette topped with dollar-sized duck confit and pork pâté, a sheet of pickled carrot and a speck of yuzu aioli.

It was La Jolla tastegoer Mike Noce’s favorite sample of all the Gaslamp offerings, he said.